Controlling My Stress by Refining My Critical Thinking

Controlling my stress by refining my critical thinking

There are many things in my life that produce stress in my life. I first looked at the probable stressors in my life and now must refine my thinking to decide the best solution to understand and control my stress. As I mentioned before my very busy work schedule produces a lot of my stress. Working as many as 70 to 80 hours a week created physical and mental stress on my body. The second stressor in my life is my big family. Having four generations living in one home as nice at time, but produces stress in a way that you fill there is nowhere to go to relax. The final stressor in my life is my decision to return to school. This decision came with much deliberation, but in the long run will be a way to eliminate stress by working less hours and making a higher salary. Todd Smith states in a blog online a statement that I have taken to heart. He states that, "Managing stress is all about taking control of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun (2011)". To be able to use my critical thinking to refine my ideas on how to control and limit my stress will in the long run help me become healthier and create an environment where I can life a more relaxed life.

I first decided on some initial solutions to each stressor in my life and now I must reevaluate each one to come up with the best solution. My first solution to control my stress is to always think positive. By keeping a positive outlook I will be able to cope with any situation in a better way. My next goal is to protect my time by not allowing others to control my life. Simply put, I'm going to begin to say no to others. I need to remember that I need time in my life just to do nothing. This time will help me wind down from stressful situations and let my body heal. I believe another area that will be beneficial to me to manage stress is to change my eating habits. Shift work is hard to manage especially with a poor diet. Eating at different times of the day and night throws my system into utter turmoil. I believe that setting specific times to eat whether on days or nights will help me manage my diet ad in turn make me a healthier individual. The final idea I have to overcome stress is simply to enjoy every moment I get to spend with my girls. Simple hugs from my three year old or seven year old daughters seem to make me forget any stressful day I have had. The more quality time I spend with them the less stress I seem to have.

I must now examine my initial ideas to control my stress to find the best solution. To examine my initial ideas I must think of how I can work out the details to accomplish my goal. I am the only person that can control my stress and I must create a timeline to accomplish this. I believe that nothing can be changed overnight, so an achievable time period to take control and ultimately reduce all the stress in my life should be two months. This time period will give me the opportunity to control my work schedule, modify my eating habits, and show others in my life that I am the only one who decides my time management. By setting this time line I will ultimately take control of my life balancing it to make time to live life to the fullest with as little stress as possible.

Now that I have examined my initial ideas I must look for imperfections and any complications that I might have. My first solution to managing stress involves me creating a positive outlook. This step will be difficult, but with the knowledge of the end result I will be able to accomplish this goal. The next solution I must look at involves me not letting other to control my life. I must learn when to say no. I have always tried to be the strong backbone in my family so telling no is a hard